The issue is one of sensitivity. THe word in question is "handicapped." I am under the impression that this word has been shelved in favor of the more politically correct "disabled." Yet, I feel there might be an even more recent word for this purpose.

The reference is in an article about design problems for architects designing special kitchens and baths for "handicapped" people.

Source & Dateof Question

San Francisco, California2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

Lately, I have heard the phrase "Physically Challenged" around here. That's what they've been using at the University of Connecticut, I know.

Question

How can you write the comparative form of colors used as adjectives?

Glasgow is (greener / more green) than London.

Is it possible to say Yellower than or More yellow than?

Are there any rules?

Source & Dateof Question

Mexico City, Mexico2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

Yes, you can create the comparative and superlative forms of color-adjectives in this way. You'll have to depend on your ear, as there are no rules about this, as far as I know. You'll have to decide whether it sounds better to say "yellower" or "more yellow."

Authority: The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers by Chris M. Anson and Robert A. Schwegler. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.: New York. 1997.

Question

When to use "You and I" or " You and me"?

I"ve been taught to say: "You and I will go to the store".
OR: :"This weather is good for you and me".

Our minister who claims to be a former teacher would say: "You and I will go to the store". AND "This weather is good for you and I".

I contend that "I" should be used as a subject and "me" as a subject of a preposition. That the use of "me" and "I" has nothing to do with singular or plural usages.

Please give me the use of "You and I" and the use of "You and me". Sounds kind of picky, but since I taught for 33 years, it tends to go against my grain. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE11

Source & Dateof Question

Tomahawk, Wisconsin2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

Your minister is undoubtedly right about many things, but he's wrong about pronouns. You're right: when you compound a pronoun with another pronoun, you don't change its form. You would say "The weather is good for me." When you throw "you" into the mix, don't change the form of "me": "The weather is good for you and me."

Question

I work for a public school system and we print business cards for
teachers. We need to know the correct style for the word "highway"
in an address. We commonly use it here as Hwy. 3. But I have been
unable to find the word highway in an abbreviations dictionary. Can you
please help me?

should it be ... 1927 La. Hwy 90
or ... 1927 Hwy. 90
or ... 1927 Highway 90
or what?

Thank you very much for any assistance.

Source & Dateof Question

Bossier City, Louisiana2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

My Oxford American Dictionary says Hwy. Whether you have to put La. in front it or not, I suppose, depends on how widespread your addressbook might be. I doubt if it's necessary.

Question

When would you use an ampersand and when would you use the word "and"?

Source & Dateof Question

Sunnyvale, California2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

In formal writing, certainly, you would reserve the ampersand for things such as company names, especially publishers' names (that are written that way by the company), in titles of books, and there are some really weird uses (like between the reigns of monarchs, as in Act of Settlement, 12 & 13 Will. and in some citations.) Don't use it, indiscriminately, as a substitute for "and" unless you're writing in Old English.

Question

When is it proper to use us vs. we? Is there a rule that says something about always using we when we is followed by the word were?? I thought us is objective case and we is subjective case. Ex. "The program was produced by us." "The program was produced by us (??) boys or "The program was produced by we (??) boys."

Source & Dateof Question

Unknown2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

When the pronoun becomes attributive in this way (i.e., it also modifies an accompanying noun), it takes the form it would have if the noun were not there. In other words, as you point out, we would say "The program was produced by us." So when we add "boys," we would say "The program was produced by us boys." We would say "We are going to the movies." So you would say "We boys are going to the movies." I don't know what you mean by the word "were" here, but I don't think that has anything to do with it.

Question

What's the correct answer for this question?
"Who's knocking?"

"It's me."

"It's I."
Why??

Source & Dateof Question

Somewhere, Brazil2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

In formal writing, we would write "It's I," but, frankly, that form would be quite rare in common speech. (The contraction It's also suggests that you're not talking about formal writing anyway.) The argument runs that the nominative predicate of a subject has to be in the subjective form, as if it were an equation: It = I . Many careful writers argue, however, that that is nonsense, that there is no reason why the subject cannot equal an object form, as it does in French, say: "C'est moi." The argument goes on, but in formal, academic writing, you would probably still be wise to write "It is I."

Question

I found it very difficult to learn gerunds and infinitives because there is no rule to follow. What I'm doing now is just rote learning. Are there any effective and efficient ways to learn the two grammar topics? Thanks.

What is the difference between "It says that...", "It said that..." and "It is said to be..."? Thanks.

Source & Dateof Question

Hong Kong2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

In the U.S., a "rental" would be the place or the thing that you "rent" (noun versus verb, in other words). I'm not sure if that's true in places of a more British persuasion.

The difference between "It says that" and "it said that" can be a simple matter of tense. Generally, when we speak of what we read in a book, we use the present tense. "It is said to be. . ." sounds like a rather stuffy and passive way to describe how something is understood. "It is said to be commonplace among the citizens of this country that. . . ."

Question

Ending a preface to a collection of papers I would like to say the following: "With this publication the network ceases to exist. What remains are memories of..." I am not sure about the part "What remains...". Does the word REMAIN take its tense from a singular WHAT or the plural REMAINS?

Source & Dateof Question

Oslo, Norway2 April 1998

Grammar'sResponse

The word "remains" can be a plural noun, if that's what you're asking (His remains were cremated.), but not in this sentence. As you suggest, it is the singular, present tense verb (thus its -s ending) for the singular subject, "What."